David Abraham has said Channel 4's decided to air the Paralympics not just to score points for being politically correct, but a chance to "change attitudes and minds about disability".

The Channel 4 chief executive said that the broadcaster is embracing the event wholeheartedly, including training disabled presenters to be faces of the future, to make a mark beyond airing the event.

"This is not political correctness for its own sake," said Abraham, speaking at the MediaGuardian International Television Festival on Thursday. "We saw it is an opportunity to change attitudes and minds about disability. It is about stimulating progress and change. It plays to the core [of Channel 4's public service broadcasting remit]."

Channel 4 has admitted that when it struck the TV rights deal to air the Paralympics the business plan was for a "commercially neutral" end result, although advertising saleve has gone better than expected and the event is now expected to more than break even.

Abraham, who was interviewed by former Channel 4 chief executive Michael Jackson, also admitted that he is unwilling to risk investing large amounts of his programming budget on finding the next big UK drama franchise.

"In an ideal world yes, if the ad market was booming again we would be in a stronger position to make that bet," he said. "But it is not like we aren't experimenting. Fresh Meat will be around for a long time. These franchises can be built."

Channel 4 has developed a taste for big events with a telethon for cancer planned for later this year, which Abraham said was borne out of a realisation that the broadcaster had become "detached" from viewers.

"There was a sense from Jay [Hunt, chief creative officer] and I that Channel 4 had become perhaps a little aloof from its audience," he said. "[There was] a strain of detachment from the public, some constituencies."

He criticised UK TV for having too much "nostalgia" programming and too many derivative shows, but said that Channel 4 has a licence to make "controlled explosions" with controversial shows.

"There have been some uncomfortable moments," he said. "When the remit says to push risk taking and promote debate and to balance that with taking care you find complex situations. I like to describe what we do as controlled explosions. We know what we are going to do and want to provoke thought.

"We don't always get it right, you can't always get it right. Making a plane crash … the prime minister fucking a pig. These aren't particularly comfortable editorial decisions."

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